Refrigerating apparatus



Nov. 25, 1941.

J. W. CRAIG ET AL REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 28, 1938 3Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS J..w. CRAIG E-rAL REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Nov.25, 1941.

Filed Feb. 28, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR www im 'i ATTORNEYS l Ylill/IIIA BY 2 7lIl)l/llllllII/lllzlllllllllIl Patented Nov 25, 194i2,264,199 romagna .lohn W. Eraig and Don E. Dasher, Dayton, hlo,

assignors to General Motors Coration, Dayton, hio,l a corporation of21|;

laware Application February 28, 1938, Serial No. 192,990 i 13 Clad.. (QL625) 'generatorabsorber to the condenser and evaporator when refrigerantis evaporated and the evaporated refrigerant is absorbed in the othergeneratorabsorber which is cooled.

It is an object of our invention to provide an improved means foralternately heating twin generator-absorbers and (particularly a meansin which no pilot light is required.

It is anotherl object of our invention to provide a control means for aplurality of burners for causing' the burners to be alternately suppliedwith fuel, and for lighting one burner from another during thealternation.

It is still another object of our invention to provide means fordecreasing the restriction to the supply of gas and providing thegreater ow of gas to the burners during the alternations of the burners.

Further objects and advantages of the presen invention will be apparentfrom-the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearlyshown.

In the drawings.:

Fig. 1 shows in diagrammatic form a twin generator-absorber type ofvrefrigerating system embodying our invention;

y Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of one of the burners and a portion of ashtube employed for lighting one burner from another;

Fig. 3' is a sectional view of the control means for controlling theflow of fuel to the burners shown in Fig. l; the control means is shownin the position it assumes at the start of a cycle;

Fig. 4 is another view of thev control means generally similar to Fig. 3showing the control means in the position it assumes just before the endof a cycle;

Fig. 5 is a view generally similar to Figs. 3 and 4 in which thealternation of the supply of fuel to the burners is almost completed;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3 3 of Fig. 4.

Briefly we have shown a tWin-generator-absorber refrigerating systemhaving a condenser connected to each generator-absorber with evaporatingmeans connected in between' the two condensers. The generator-absorbersare alternately heated by individual burners controlled by a two-way gasvalve operated by. uid pressuresystems responsive to the temperatures ofthe twin generator-absorbers. A throttling valve responsive toevaporator temperature controls the supply of gas to the two-way valve.The two-way valve is provided with dash-pot means incorporated in itsyiiuid pressure operating means which delays the shutting off of fuel tothe lighted burner until the other burner can be lighted. A by-pass isprovided around the throt- Vtling means which is opened during thealternation of the twoway valve from one position to another to providean added fuel supply.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Fig.l 1, there isshown a twin genimproved form of two-way 4gas valve 28. A re- Fig. 6 isa view generally similar to Figs. 3, 4

frigerant conduit connects the twin generatorabsorbers 20 and 22 and isprovided with a condenser portion 30 connected to the generatorabsorber20 and a condenser portion 32 connected to the generator-absorber 22.Connected in between the two condenser portions 30 and- 32 are twoevaporating portions 34 and 36 which are separated by some suitable formof ow control ldevice 38, such. as a restrictor, for providing thepressure drop between the operative condenser portion and the operativeevaporating '36 without any evaporation taking place, and

thence passes through the restrictor 33 into the evaporating portion 34where the liquid refrigerant evaporates under reduced pressure and isabsorbed by the absorber 20. Y

The iiow of gas to the two-way valve 28 is controlled by a thermostatbulb in heat exchange relation with end portions of the two evaporating.portions 34 and 36. This thermostat bulb is connected by a small uidconduit 55, to a throttllng valve I2 connected in the gas supply conduit44 for controlling the supply of gas to the two-way valve 28 so as tocontrol the heating lof the generator-absorbers in accordance withthetemperature of the evaporating portions. The two-way valve 28 iscontrolled by the thermostat bulb 48 mounted in heat exchange relationwith the generator and the thermostat bulb 48 mounted in heat exchangerelation with the generator-absorber 22. These two thermostat bulbs 48and 48 are connected by fluid conduit means with the control valve 28which is constructed inI such a manner that when the operative generatorbecomes sufficiently warm to indicate that substantially all therefrigerant has been driven from it, the two-way valve is operated tochange the supply of gas from the operative burner to the inoperativeburner.

The control valve 28 is provided with mechanism .for providing a shortinterval of time in which both burners are supplied with gas, which issuiiiciently long toenable the lighting. of the burner lnewly suppliedwith gas from the burner which has been operative through the medium ofa ilash tube 80 which conveys burning gases from the lighted burner tothe burner which is t be lighted. A by-pass 82 is provided around thethrottling valve 42, which is opened during the period in which bothburners are supplied with gas so as to insure an adequate supply of gasfor lighting the one burner from the other. I

Each of the burners are provided with a laterally extending tube 84which extends into the iiash tube 88 for feeding the iiash tube with gasso-that it is capable of conducting the flame from one burner toanother. Each end of flash tube is provided with an upwardly extendingportion 88 which feeds the burned and unburned gases into the nameissuing from the burner. Through these means the burners may be lightedfrom each other and no pilot light is required.

Referring now to the remaining figures of the drawings for amorecomplete disclosure of the two-way valve 28 there is shown a stampedmetal casing 80 provided with a wide reinforcing nange. 45

8 the levers .82 and 84.

The upper ends of the levers 82 and 8| are tending through short slotsinthe upper ends .of The rods 84." and 88 are surrounded by the flangedthreaded sleeves 88 and |02, which are slidably mounted within directlyopposite apertures in the upper portion of the bracket 12. Each of thesesleeves 88 and 18 |82 is provided with a compression type coil spring,|84 and |08, which extends between the bracket'12 and thenuts, v|88 and||0, which are threaded onto the sleeves 88 and |82. The forked rods 84and 88 are provided with nuts |2 and 18 I4 at their opposite ends.

The levers 82 and 84 are provided with tongues ||8 and M8" which areadapted to engage the upper ends of a common toggle lever |20 which ispivoted upon vthe button |22 and is provided 20 with a hooked lowerrendportion extending around the slotted portion of a valve rod |24 which isguided' by bushings |28 and |28 provided in the bracket 82. The valverod |24 is provided with a slot |80 which receives a pin |82 25extending through the hooked portion provided at the lower end of thetoggle lever |20. The

hooked portion also supports the lower end of a tension type togglespring |84 which extends upwardly and is hooked through an adjustingscrew |88 provided in the connecting portion of the bracket 12.

The valve rod |24 is provided with an adjustable cam |88 held in placeupon the valve rod Cby a set screw |40. This cam is ladapted tocooperate with the cam follower |42 pivotally connected to the valveseat plug |44 which is clamped to the casing by a threaded fitting |48.This threaded tting- |48 contains a "Duprene faced valve member |48which is urged against its seat il' by a light compression type coilspring |88. The

Upon opposite side walls of the casing 88 there is provided cylindermembers 82 and 84 which have an inturned rim each receiving an innercollar, 88 and 81, which receives a clamping member, 8 8 and 89,threaded into it from the outside of the casing 88. These clampingmembers are each provided with a tube, 18 and 1|,

connecting to one of the thermostat bulbs 48 orV 48 lodged within thegenerator-absorbers 20 and 22. The clamping members thus fasten thecylindrical members 82 and 84 to the side walls of the casing isprovided with a bellows 18 sealed to the necked es end portion of theirrespective sleeves 82 and 84. The inner' ends of the bellows 14 and'I8carry the ends of bellows follower pins 18 and 88 which have theirother ends each provided with a conical point for engaging the levers 82and 84 which are pivoted upon the pivot buttons 88 and 88 provided uponan upwardly extending portion 80 valve |48 is connected to the camfollower |'42 by a forked rod |82 which is threaded. at one end into thevalve member |48 and connected by a pin to the cam follower I 42.

The valve rod |24 has cup-shaped members |84 and |88 threaded to itsopposite ends which contain valve members |88 and |80 held in place bythe concentric springs |82 and |84 which engage a groove provided ineach of the cup mem- 80 bers inside its rim. The valve members |88 and|80 each have a Duprene" face whichis adapted to engage the mouth of thefittings |88 and |88 provided as outlet valve seats inthe side walls ofthe casing 80. A similar fitting |10 is provided as an inlet valvefitting and connects to the gas of a bracket 82 which is fastened byspot-welding or other suitable means to the lower end of the bracket 12.

supply conduit 44 while the outlet valve ttings |88 and |88 areconnected to their respective burners 24 and 28. The by-pass conduit 82connects to the nttin'g |48.-

Operation- The operation of the control valve -continues progressivelyfrom Fig. 3 to Fig. 8. In Fig; 3

the control valve is shown at the beginning of the cycle illustrated inFig. l in which the burner 28 is heating the generator-absorber 22. Thegas iiows from the conduit 44 past the throttling valve 42 to the inletiitting |18 which feeds the gas into the casing 80. The valverod |24 ismoved to a position against the outlet fitting |88 to prevent the iiowo! gas to the burner 24 while the valve seat member |80 is `well awayfrom the fitting |88 so that the gas may ow from thecasing88totheburner28. Atthistimethe generator-absorber 22'andthermostatbulb 48 are relatively cool so that the spring |06 is suflicientlystrong to overcome the force of l'ow pressure gas within the sleeve 64and thus hold the lever 84 in fully 'retarded position. Inasxnuch as theburner 24 has just ceased heating the generator-absorber v thetemperature of the bulb 46 will still be high and the pressure withinthe sleeve 62 will compress the bellows 14 suiiiciently to hold thelever 82 in an outer position against the tension of the spring |04 sothat the rim upon the sleeve 98 is held away from the bracket 12 whichserves as its stop and the forked end of the rod 94 isI away from -theadjacent end of v the sleeve 08.

As the cycle continues the thermostat bulb 46 will become cooler and thegenerator-absorber 22 and its thermostat bulb 48'will become warmer asshown in Fig. 4, just before the end of the cycle shown in Fig. 1. Alip` ||8 of the' lever 84 has moved the pivot end of the toggle lever|20 almost'to its dead center position. The valve rod |24, however, isstill in its extreme left position and is held in that position by theengagement of the cam member |38 with its follower |42. In the meantime,however, the pin |32 at the lower end of the toggle lever |20 has movedto the opposite end of the slot |30. Therim of the sleeve |02 has beenpulled away from the bracket l2 and the forked end of the rod 96 hasbeen pulled away from the sleeve |02 by the pressure within the sleeve64 which has been suiiicient to overcome the tension of the coil spring|06.

When the temperature of the thermostat bulb 48 and thegenerator-absorber 22 becomes suiiiciently high it overcomes theretarding force of the cam |38, the toggle spring |34 and the springliquid in the sleeve v(in this instance sleeve .62)

delays the complete movement of the toggle lever |20 and the valve rod|24 until'suiiicient iiuid can escape from the sleeve 62 under the forceof the toggle -spring |34. When suiiicient uid is expelled from thesleeve 62 the toggle spring completes the movement of the valve rod |24to the right so that the seat |60 engages the outlet fitting |68 to shutod the flow of gas to the burner 26. This delay in the-movement ofthevalve rod |24 and the opening of the valve |48 provides a sufcientinterval of time and a sumcient flow of gas to both burners during theperiod of alternationto insure the lighting of the burner 24 by theburner 26-through the ash tube 50. This new cycle then continues in asimilar way to the cycle just described and when the generatorabsorber20 becomes suiciently warmed the cycle is completed and the alternationagain takes place'reversing -the heating and reversing the ow ofrefrigerant in the system.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed,constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that otherformsmight be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims whichfollow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. Refrigerating apparatus vincluding Aa twin y supply means includingmeans for alternately |06 to throw the toggle lever |20 across its deadcenter position into the position as shown in Fig. 5. This causes thevalve rod |24 to be moved from its extreme left position as shown inFigs. 3 and 4 across its center position toward the fitting 68 to theposition shown in Fig. 5, in which position it permits a comparativelylarge supply of gas to ow to the burner 24, since the fitting |66 issubstantially fully open while a smaller supply of gas is permitted toflow through the fitting |68 to the burner 26. il The larger gas owthrough the burner 24 tends to draw a flame through the flash tube 50and light the gas issuing from the burner 2d.

It should be noted that the cam follower |42 is provided with a centralnotch which tends to hold the valve rod for a period in this position.which is suilicient to insure lighting of the burner 24 from the burner26 through the medium of the iiash tube 450. The cam |38 by itsengagement with the cam follower |42 also opens the bypass valve |48which permits gas to flow through the by-pass 52 around the throttlingvalve 42 directly into the' casing 60 so as to insure an adequate supplyof gas during the period of alternation regardless of the condition ofthe thermostat 40 and the throttling valve 42.

The conduits 10 and 7| connecting the sleeves 65,

burner means for Aa limited period of time when changing the supply offuel from one burner means to another burner means.

2.*Refrigeratingapparatus including a twin generator-absorber system, aburner means for each of. said generator-absorbers, means for supplyingfuel to each of said burner means, said supply means including means foralternately changing the supplyof fuel from one burner means to theother, said supply means being provided with means for increasing thesupply of fuel to the lburner means when the supply is changed from oneburner means to the other.

3. Refrigerating apparatus including a twin generator-absorber system, aburner means for each of said generator-absorbers, means for supplyingfuel to each of said burner means, said supply means including means foralternately changing the supply of fuel from one burner means to theother, said supply means-being provided with means for supplying fuel toboth burner means. for a limited period of l time when changing thesupply of -fuel from one burner means to the other burner means, saidsupply means being provided with means for increasing the supply of fuelto the burner means when the supply is changed from one burner means tothe other.-

4. Refrigeratingl lapparatusincluding a twin generator-absorber system,burner means for each of said generator-absorbers, means for supplyingfuel alternately to said burner means. said supply means including aplurality of valves for shutting off the supply of fuel to each of theburner means, meansv for opening one of the valves and closing the otherfor permitting the supply of fuel to one of the burner means andshutting off thesupply to the other, and means for holding open both ofsaid valves when changing from one burner meansto the other fora periodsuflicient toylight one of the burner means from the other.

5. Refrigerating apparatus including a twin generator-absorber system,burner means' for each of said generator-absorbers, means for supplyingfuel alternately to said burner means. said supply means including aplurality of valves for shutting off the supply of fuel to each of theburner means, means for opening one of the valves and closing the otherfor permitting the supply of fuel to one of the burner means and holdingopen both of said valves when changing from one burner means to theother for a period suflicient to light one of the burner means from theother, and a plurality of thermostatic means responsive individually tothe temperature of said one outlet and opening the other, means for operating said valve means, and latch means for delaying the operation -ofthe valve means at a point intermediatethe opening of one outlet and theclosing of the other for holding open two of said outlets for a periodof time during the operation of the valve means.

gshutting oi the supply t0 the other, means for generator means forcontrolling said valve means. 6. A two-way valve including an-inletanda' means for operating said valve means, and dashpot means for delayingthe operation of the valve means at a` point intermediate the opening ofone outlet and the closing of the other for holding open two of saidoutlets for a period of time during the operation of the valve means.

8. A two-way valve including an inlet and a plurality of outlets, avalve means for. closing one outlet and opening the other, fluidpressure means foroper'ating said valve means, means for holding opentwo of said outlets for a period of time during the operation of thevalve means, a throttling means for controlling the conduction of?lfluid to said inlet. a by-pass for. said throttlin means, by-pass valvemeans for controlling the flow of fluid through said by-pass, and mea'nsfor holding open said by-pass valve means during the operation of theother valve means.

9. A two-way valve including an inlet and a plurality lof outlets, avalve means for closing l0. In combination, two burner means, means forsupplying fuel to each of said burner means, said supply means includingmeans for changing the supply of fuel from either of the burner means tothe other, said supply means including means for simultaneouslysupplying fuel to both burner means for a limited period of timewhenchanging the supply of fuel from either 0f the burner means` to the other.

ll. In combination, two burner'means, means for supplying fuel to eachof said burner means,

'said' supply means including means for changving the supply of fuelfrom either of the burner means to the other, means for lighting eitherof the burner'means from the other, said supply means including meansfor simultaneously supplying. fuel to both burner means for a period oftime sufilcient to light one burner means from another when changing thesupply of fuel from either burner means tothe other.

12. In combination, a plurality. of burner means, means for supplyingfuel to each of said burner means, said supply means including means forchanging the supply of fuel from 'one of the burner means to another,means for lighting one of the burner means from another, said supplymeans including means for increasing the s'upply of fuel to the burnermeans when changing the supply of fuelfrom one yburner means t0 13. Atwo-way valve includingv an vinlet and aplurality of outlets. avalve'means for closing either outlet and opening the other, means foroperating said valve means, snap acting means for controlling thevoperation of said valve means,

and means for delaying the operation of the valve means'at a pointintermediate the Opening of'one outlet and the closing of the other forholding open two of said outlets for a period of time during theoperation of the valve means.

JOHN W. CRAIG. DON E.

